Arsenal and United Face Fight In Pursuit Of Dortmund's Star Midfielder

Dortmund are confident that Ilkay Gundogan will remain out of the clutches of Arsenal and Manchester United. [Reuters]

Borussia Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke is confident that the club will be able to keep star midfielder Ilkay Gundogan despite there being interest from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.

The 22 year old earned rave reviews for his performances last season as Dortmund reached the final of the Champions League, whilst in previous campaigns he had been a major figure in the club winning consecutive Bundesliga titles.

Gundogan has seen his former teammate Mario Gotze make the move to German champions Bayern Munich and there was plenty of speculation that star striker Robert Lewandowski would also be on the move.

Dortmund appear to have persuaded Lewandwoski to stay for one more season but there has been interest in Gundogan from Manchester United and Arsenal, who are both keen to make a high profile signing before the transfer window closes.

Arsenal have been linked with several players this summer but they have yet to spend at all as free agent Yaya Sanogo remains their only signing of the summer.

Meanwhile Manchester United have also been linked with a number of central midfielders and have already missed out on Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas, while they have also been unsuccessful so far in their pursuit of Marouane Fellaini.

Both clubs will be hoping to make a major signing before deadline day but it seems they will struggle to convince Dortmund to part with Gundogan.

"I believe that he is staying," Watzke told Kicker."At this stage of his career, he knows that he has to continue with Borussia Dortmund."

The defensive midfielder has become a regular for Germany over the course of the last year and his powerful displays for Dortmund have brought him to the attention of numerous clubs across Europe.

While it appears unlikely that the Premier League duo will be able to sign Gundogan this summer they may well continue to monitor his situation, especially if Dortmund do lose Lewandowski in January.